Ever After
by Ethereal Fury
Summary: My take on the oh-so-overdone final balcony scene in FF8. Obviously Squinoa; need I say more? Read and find out for yourselves. [First fic]


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EVER AFTER

By: Ethereal Fury

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Disclaimer: I own nothing… except a few ideas, my computer, and my Final Fantasy 8 game. Unluckily, Squaresoft owns the handsome Mr. Leonheart, along with all his comrades and all other things related to FF. Any allusion to anything FF-related is therefore the property of Squaresoft.

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A/N: This is my first foray into the realm of fanfiction, FF8 or otherwise; my take on the touching balcony scene at the end of the game. Initially, it began as a multichaptered story with a mix of action and romance and original characters, but those plans have long since been abandoned. Now it's just a fluffy one-shot. Read & Review if you wish; it's the only way a writer can improve.

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WARNING: Spoilers! If you haven't finished the game, this could spoil it for ya. Read at your own risk.

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EVER AFTER

A chilly wind enveloped the receding form of the floating Balamb Garden. The lone figure leaning against the stone railing of the ballroom balcony shivered, making her jet-black hair with copper highlights shimmer in the soft moonlight. The cold gust came again, reminding her of when she had found her love collapsed on the cold ground of the dreary time-compressed desert. She had been so worried that he might have been dead, gone before she could tell him how she felt (even if he already guessed) that even thinking about it sent fearful shivers down her spine._ I must stop thinking about it, he is fine,_ she silently chided herself. The soft music coming from the ballroom, from the party thrown for her and her friends to celebrate the defeat of Ultimecia, reached her ears. It was her mother's famous 'Eyes On Me'.

Whenever sang my songs,

On the stage, on my own,

Whenever said my words,

Wishing they would be heard

I saw you smiling at me

Was it real or just my fantasy

You'd always be there in the corner,

Of this tiny little bar

She sang under her breath before her thoughts drifted elsewhere as she gazed up at the beautiful stars twinkling merrily in the midnight sky. She heard the soft but determined clatter of boots on the stone floor and knew it was him, without having to turn around.

"Squall," she breathed, turning to glance up at his imposing handsome figure, clad in its customary black leather and furry jacket. He stood a good 11 centimeters taller than her, strong and proud, his soft mahogany hair reflecting the moon's silvery light, some wayward strands falling over his captivating azure eyes and the trademark scar across the bridge of his nose.

He looked down at her, his angel, the only one to breach his icy shell and nestle in his heart. At her raven-black hair settled against pale ivory skin and sparkling brown eyes making breathtaking contrast, at her small rosy lips, at her petite yet decidedly strong physique. He felt a foreign feeling twitching at the corners of his mouth. Could it be… a smile? Yes, he, Squall Leonheart, the taciturn and aloof savior of the world had a smile on his face, a true smile, for the first time since Ellone had left him all alone at the orphanage.

"Rinoa," he replied to the previous mention of his name, positioning himself so that he too was leaning against the railing and looking up at the stars, his arm lightly brushing hers.

"You should smile more often," Rinoa whispered, a crimson blush tainting her pale cheeks. _Why do I act like that whenever he's so close? I feel giddy and lightheaded and my heart beats faster._ But she already knew the answer to that—she was in love. Not first love like she had believed herself in with Seifer, but real love.

Squall glanced at her flaming cheeks and found that, as usual, he didn't know what to say. He had never been very good with words and feelings. The war of emotions that raged within him was stronger than ever, but one thing was clear—he wanted to sweep this beautiful and vulnerable girl into his arms and kiss her and tell her he loved her. But he couldn't, could he? The last time he had opened up to someone and let anyone into his heart, they had deserted him, leaving him hurt and alone. One really couldn't come to depend on others—sooner or later they'd leave. So he'd built impenetrable walls around himself. But then SHE had come along; free-spirited, flirtatious, and frank, and she had sneaked her way into his stone-cold heart before he'd even noticed it. Squall knew he was in love—he'd been since he'd first set eyes on her in that fateful SeeD graduation ball, but he refused to admit it to her and even to himself. _She'll just be taken away like everyone else, you can't love her, _he told himself, but as he looked at her he felt his frozen heart begin to melt—and he was scared.

"Rinoa…I…" he began, but as if on cue, a shooting star swept across the sky, leaving behind a luminous trail of fireflies to linger in the air.

Rinoa pointed up at the sky in the same manner she had when they'd first met under the glass roof of the ballroom on that predestined night and turned to Squall. He too turned, and as he saw the gleam in her chocolate eyes, he felt his inner turmoil cease. He loved her, and nothing else mattered. Another soft smiled caressed his chiseled features as he reached out and grabbed Rinoa's hand, pulling her to him. Before he could even think twice about his rash actions, she was nestled against his chest, his hands on her slim waist and his lips pressed gently to hers, kissing her softly and somewhat uncertainly but with a hidden passion. Rinoa, too stunned to respond for a few seconds, wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her hands into his soft locks, pulling him closer to her.

The sweet sensation of Squall's lips on hers sent shivers down her spine and electricity coursing through her veins, making her feel as if a million fireworks were exploding within her in unison. When the kiss ended, she buried her face in the cool, refreshing leather of his jacket, her arms still around his neck and his encircling her waist. Being in his arms made her feel warm, protected, secure, loved, and so complete and right. She never wanted the night or the embrace to end. But even as she leaned against his comfortable chest, breathing in the sweet scent of the leather and the musky one that was him, she felt tears coming to her eyes.

"Squall, what's going to happen tomorrow?" she whispered into his chest.

Squall frowned and stroked her hair. "What do you mean, Rinoa?"

The unwanted tears were now steadily streaming down her cheeks. "Nothing…"

He could see her shoulders were shaking and from the moisture on his chest knew she was crying. He desperately wanted to comfort her, to let her know that everything was going to work out fine, but couldn't think of the words. _Hyne, why am I such a klutz in this?_ he thought. His brow furrowed even deeper as he asked, "Rinoa, what's wrong?"

She pulled away and turned around, not wanting to look at him and see concern etched on those usually stony features. "I'm a Sorceress and you're… you're the Commander of SeeD… and SeeDs are trained to defeat the Sorceress…"

Squall took a step closer to her and said, "SeeD are trained to defeat evil Sorceresses like Ultimecia and Matron when she was possessed."

Rinoa looked down at her trembling hands, hands that now had to power to destroy whole nations and harm her friends with the utterance of a single word and shivered. "What if I get possessed again like in outer space or become no better than Ultimecia? Then SeeD will come after me to neutralize the threat… and the leader of SeeD is you…" She turned to face him but kept her head bowed, concealing her tear-stained cheeks. "Remember that it's okay if it's you… and only you…" she whispered.

He shook his head vehemently. "NO! It won't happen! I'm your knight and I will protect you, with my life if necessary."

A sad smile appeared on Rinoa's pale features as she murmured, "But you're also a SeeD, and this is a place to train SeeDs; it's no place for a Sorceress… I'd be hated and feared and…"

Squall forced her chin up so she would look at him. "Rinny… I…" he began, the nickname rolling off his tongue somewhat oddly but being perfectly fitting. Could he do it? Could he again utter those words that had only once before escaped his lips and had caused an apparent eternal solace? He knew that he should, no, must, tell her how he felt before he lost her too. The war was vanquished—he had tried to get by on his own; alone, with no friends, and unattached but found that he couldn't. He depended on his four friends and this one girl to go on and he relied on them, much to his own dismay. Now he was faced with the hardest task, much harder than defeating Ultimecia since that had only required following orders-- letting them know. And he was determined to do so. "I… I love you and I promise you that I will find a way to make it work…so… just stay close to me, please," he said in a hushed whisper. There, the words had been said; all he could do now was stand there vulnerably and wait for her to either accept them or throw them back in his face.

Rinoa searched his alluring blue eyes and found only sincerity. A radiant smile lit her tear-stained features and tears of happiness cascaded down her cheeks, giving them a silvery glow in the pale moonlight. _Stay close to me_, the phrase that had begun everything and had comforted her after she'd received her powers. She looked up at him with watery chocolate eyes. "I love you too Squall."

Squall smiled and with an ungloved hand wiped away the emerging tears. He pulled her into another strong embrace, kissing the soft inky blackness of her raven hair. She rested her forehead on the crook of his neck and once again inhaled his musky scent. It made her feel complete; whole. _My lion,_ she thought, snuggling closer to him.

"Don't worry about your powers. I don't care if you're a Sorceress—you could never be evil," he whispered into her ear. He, the impassive Commander Squall Leonheart, was whispering sweet nothings into her ear like a love-struck fool... but for once, he didn't care.

She pulled away enough to give his handsome profile a grateful smile. She spotted another shooting star above them, caressing the midnight sky, and murmured, "Make a wish."

Squall leaned in closer, his lips millimeters from hers and replied, "I have everything I could possibly wish for."

With that, the embracing couple atop Balamb Garden's ballroom balcony sealed their love with a passionate kiss underneath the twinkling stars. The Lion and the Angel were finally united in their vow of love, hopefully forever after.

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THE END


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